Lightning News

Lightning Prospect Already Making an Impact at World Juniors

by
Peter Pupello
/ Tampa Bay Lightning

While several Lightning players patiently wait for the final verdict on whether or not their names will appear on an Olympic roster this February in Vancouver, one Bolt to-be is already gaining attention north of the border.

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Lightning prospect Richard Panik, who was drafted by the team with the 52nd overall pick in this past summer’s NHL Entry Draft, is among tournament leaders in the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior U20 Championships which began on Dec. 26 in Saskatchewan.

Entering play on December 28, the 18-year-old winger was tied for first place with Canada’s Gabriel Bourque for the tournament lead in goals with three and also held a share of third place among total point leaders with five.

Coming off a stellar performance on Sunday in which the Slovakian native scored two goals as part of a five-goal period that gave the Slovaks an 8-3 win over Latvia, Panik has pushed the Slovakian national team to the top of Group A along with the United States and Canada and in a position to advance to the tournament’s next round.

Panik put the Slovaks (1-1) up 2-0 with a pair of goals just 3:44 into the game, sparking momentum that would carry his team throughout the remainder of the contest. He later added an assist on Marek Viedensky's goal at 5:31 of the period before Slovakia tallied an additional two to go into the intermission up 5-0.